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35 Are Dead or Missing in Puerto Rico Floods

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SAN JUAN P. R., Oct. 9 — Thirty‐five persons have been reported dead or missing in floods and landslides caused by a seven‐day downpour in Puerto Rico, the authorities said today.

The floods, which began Tuesday, have caused damage estimated at $50‐million.

Ramon Calderon, Puerto Ri co's civil defense director, said that more than 2,500 families had been evacuated from their homes and that more than 500 homes had been destroyed and 600 damaged.

Most of the victims were from the interior of the island, where they were swept away by overflowing rivers that de stroyed dozens of bridges and washed out countless roads With communications to Many of the stricken towns cut off, civil defense Workers and others involved in rescue oper ations fear the toll may go higher when final reports are received.

The Weather Bureau here attributed the heavy rains to tropical depression that re mained stationary over the southern part of the Dominican Republic for most•of the week.

The situation on the island remained critical, with more rain expected tomorrow.

The towns of Coamo, Fajar do, Toa Baja and Bauamon were the hardest hit.

A small dam burst in Come rio, forcing the evacuation of the town.

Navy and Coast Guard heli copters have been working vir tually around the clock, re moving people from dangerous areas. Seven nuns trapped on the second floor of a school house in the town of Villalba, were lifted to safety.

The flooding earlier in the week caused widespread prop erty damage along the northern coast of the island, but no deaths were reported.

The flooding spread to the southern ‘coast yesterday and today, causing widespread losses in towns surrounding Ponce, Puerto Rico's second largest city.

The airport in Ponce had to be closed because of flooding, complicating rescue operations further.

A version of this archives appears in print on October 10, 1970, on Page 18 of the New York edition with the headline: 35 Are Dead or Missing in Puerto Rico Floods. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe